--- Page 1 --- Cameron Walker: Welcome back to another episode of the Boomtown podcast. I'm Cameron Walker, broker owner of Cameron Walker Realty. With me as always is Megan Hines, our agent extraordinaire. Today, we're going to talk about some of the big infrastructure projects and ongoing housing developments that are either in process or upcoming in Huntsville. These can have a massive impact on where you live and your lifestyle, so we're going to dive into some of those. We'll start downtown, talk about some of the huge projects there and how they're impacting everyone's lifestyle, and then move to some of the infrastructure projects making a difference out in the suburbs. Megan, welcome aboard. Let's chat about it. Megan Hines: Yeah. And I think something to keep in mind is that these are not infrastructure projects that were brought into existence at the flip of a switch because we have people moving here. These have been in the works for a long time and have been planned—just like the people moving here have been planned. Huntsville and Madison have been aware of just how desirable the location has become and they have been planning for growth. What you see in these infrastructure projects is the fruition of that. The first one I want to talk about is the skyway that's going to connect downtown with the Lowe Mill area. I moved here over 10 years ago, and people were already talking about it. Cameron Walker: Yep. Megan Hines: And now it's about to happen. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. And that ties in a lot of places. We'll put something up on the screen to show you where that is. If you're not downtown, it's just too much to think about. A big part of that is it's going to impact people that already live in some of these areas. Lowe Mill is a great area. It's been recently redeveloped. You're seeing a lot of movement there—either vacant lots being built upon, houses being torn down and built up, or houses that are being fully renovated. You're seeing a lot of wealth pour into that area. Three, four, five years ago, you could get in there dirt cheap. Now it's becoming more and more expensive. Things like the skybridge come as close to future-proofing value and almost guaranteeing an increase in value as you can. It's going to make going from Lowe Mill to downtown easy. You can just walk right in. That's been a challenge for Huntsville—biking and walking areas. Pedestrian-friendly access has been a real challenge. You've had to go the long way around because there are so many waterways and highways. This is really going to help alleviate some of those challenges. Megan Hines: Yeah. They put these rental bikes all over Huntsville a few years ago, but I don't think they're used that much because there's really no place to bike. They have been adding more bike lanes recently, and this skybridge is going to be bikable and walkable. When you drive to Lowe Mill from downtown, it seems like it would be farther than it is because you have to take a roundabout route to get there. But if you go as the crow flies, it's not that far. It's definitely a walkable distance. It's going to really change how visiting Huntsville feels. It will feel more like an event. You'll be able to go to Huntsville's downtown, which has restaurants and Big Spring --- Page 2 --- Park, and then you'll be able to hop on this walkway, rent a bike or walk, and you'll be able to see the city as you travel over it. Then you'll be at the Lowe Mill area, which already has Gold Sprint Coffee. There will be more businesses once this gets developed because once you have this influx of people from downtown able to just get there easily, it's going to develop that area as well. For those who don't know, if you haven't been watching our videos for a while, Lowe Mill also has a huge art facility with 150 studios, over 200 artists in residence, and huge festivals throughout the year. It's a phenomenal place. So, someone living or visiting downtown has that walkability. When you think about other cities that you may visit that have larger tourist attractions, they're generally very walkable. Huntsville is finally going to have some of that. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. I've been taking my daughter to Chattanooga every year on her birthday since she was about three years old, and that's because Chattanooga is very walkable for children and there are all these activities. Huntsville wasn't, and that's absolutely going to change. People are going to be bringing their families, staying downtown, and having a list of things that they're going to do. It's all about being in Huntsville. Megan Hines: The skybridge is already bookended by existing infrastructure, housing, and businesses—like Lowe Mill on one end and downtown on the other—but there is even more coming in. As you mentioned earlier, there's been this long-term plan. You think about areas like Campus 805 and Stovehouse that have been redeveloped and are already cultural centers, but on top of that, you're looking at some redevelopment. We have the Front Row development coming in right across the street from the VBC and Rhythm on Monroe, which will be a $325 million development with housing above mixed-use retail or office space. Then, over on the other end closer to Campus 805 and Lowe Mill, you have the Mill Creek redevelopment. It's adding more value. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. And they're doing it in a smart way. The Mill Creek redevelopment is not just a plan where we put luxury houses in the middle of a neighborhood where no one can afford them. It is a development with housing for a variety of different income levels surrounded by amenities to really bring a lot of different people into the mix. Megan Hines: It's going to bring a park-like environment, too—reclaiming a little bit of green space. As it becomes more pedestrian and biker-friendly, it's easier to get to things and enjoy your time down there. I think that's been a challenge for Huntsville, especially with attracting what I'm going to call a younger crowd. I get people every month reaching out to me saying, "I'm in my early 20s. I'm single. What's the nightlife there?" And I say, "Well, first off, I'm in my mid-40s. I'm in bed by 9:00, so I can't tell you what happens after that." But in general, there isn't a lot to point them towards. This is going to give that density which is needed to have bars and restaurants that stay open late. You need the density of population for those things; otherwise, they're just empty spaces. I think they're doing a really good job of that. I haven't seen any of these developments turn into strange empty spaces. --- Page 3 --- Cameron Walker: Yeah. The planning is amazing. They've managed to develop what they have, and everything they've developed in the last 5 years is popular. People are using it the way it's supposed to be used. I think that's going to continue. I hope it does. They've been very strategic about how they drive traffic to the areas and the order in which they invest. If you came to Huntsville 10 years ago, some of these pockets were so far behind and underdeveloped. If somebody told you step-by-step what the plan was, it really didn't look like it made sense. But there are people with forward knowledge and forethought about how to strategically invest in these areas. It's cool because it's not just one entity investing; a lot of the projects we're talking about are private investment. When we talk about the skybridge, that's a large part from a federal grant, and the city has been very smart about it. Some of it's being used to mitigate any potential flood waters to add green space in addition to creating the bridge. It does seem like they're really working to make Huntsville more livable, and all this stuff they're building increases that livability. Megan Hines: It's exciting. It's going to be great. Cameron Walker: You have to entice people to come here. I don't know if anyone's seen me in my short-form videos arguing with the internet in the comments section, but people frequently ask, "Who would want to move to Huntsville?" And there are 18 people a day who want to move to Huntsville, I'll tell you that much. But there is a distinct difference between us and some other larger cities in terms of lifestyle and livability. When you have these major employers like Space Command coming here, or the FBI relocating employees, we have this huge ripple effect of people needing to move here for specialized roles. It is hard to attract those people if you can't offer the lifestyle. While the lifestyle is easy for me over in Madison with a four-bedroom, three-bath house and a great school district, that's not what everybody needs or wants. Megan Hines: And people don't really want their children to grow up, leave, and never come back. People want to build a generational life. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. People moving here frequently compare us to Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Greenville, and all of those have a larger, more vibrant downtown with more options for your interests and lifestyle. It's great to see Huntsville adding to what we already have. We're adding to it in a smart way, building the capacity for those businesses and the retail spaces, but also for the people to live there and support them. Megan Hines: And when we talk about infrastructure, we have to talk about roads. There's a lot of investment going into that. We're not just going to build up this downtown and then make you torture yourself to get there. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. I frequently talk about living on the outskirts of Madison—I'm actually over in the East Limestone area. It's only 25 minutes for me to get downtown, and we do come down frequently. There are so many wonderful things here: Big Spring Park, the Von Braun --- Page 4 --- Center where my kids' dance recitals are, where we see comedians and music acts. We come down and watch the Huntsville Havoc play. There are all these different festivals, like Panoply, which is a huge favorite for my family. When we come down for these things, it has gotten a little harder to get here as there's a little bit more traffic each year. Megan Hines: Absolutely. So, those large-scale infrastructure projects are being designed to alleviate some of that. They're widening Highway 72 and putting a substantial amount of money into the roads to ensure we don't have an "Atlanta situation." Cameron Walker: Absolutely. Thankfully, we're a little ways off from that. Having driven through Atlanta recently, I got a stark reminder. The bulk of the population in Huntsville that's not within the city limits lives either north or west of town. That's where we see a lot of these projects, particularly because you have the Arsenal and Research Park on that side of town. You have people commuting in from Decatur, Athens, and Madison, and from the north side, from Harvest all the way over to Meridianville and even a little bit northeast to New Market. The challenge is those people are being funneled into roads that are becoming more and more congested. So, the big projects we see are meant to alleviate that, such as the widening on I-565 and Highway 72, which is another major thoroughfare and probably the one suffering the most right now. Megan Hines: They're going to be widening that in sections going all the way from Providence down to County Line Road. The infrastructure project that I'm actually the most excited about is the Northern Bypass. This is going to be brand new. It's going to alleviate traffic from those places, but it's also going to open up more areas for development. It's going to keep us from crowding too many other areas. Cameron Walker: The more people we can easily bring into downtown, the more vibrant downtown is going to become. The more we can build our roads up so that it's easy and effective, the better this whole city is going to work. The city is dependent upon the surrounding areas. It's all one economy. Somebody living in my area who comes downtown for dinner—because the bulk of the restaurants are in downtown Huntsville or the surrounding areas—makes it a better economy. The easier it is for me to get in to do that, the more often I'm going to do it. Megan Hines: We are talking about multiple infrastructure projects in this area, and a big question that always comes up is, who's paying for all of this? Are taxes going to go up? Cameron Walker: No, they already have. In Huntsville, we are the star of Alabama and really of the Southeast in general. There is a lot of federal direct investment, state investment, local government investment, and a lot of private investment. It kind of depends on the project as to where that investment comes from. When we talk about programs like bringing in Space Command, there's a lot of federal money—the rumor is they're spending about $500 million to --- Page 5 --- build their facility—which comes along with all the people who move here for those jobs and the roads that need to get them there. Megan Hines: And then we have the private sector saying, "My company is going to be benefiting from this, and we will help invest in this project or that project." Infrastructure building is one of the things that differentiates this area from the rest of Alabama. You do not see the crumbling infrastructure that you might see in rural areas. People might think of that when you tell a friend, "I'm moving to Alabama," but that's not what is actually here. You see a vibrant city with new infrastructure that's being built on all the time. Cameron Walker: We're talking over $500 million in investment just over the last year. Madison spent $37 million to create the flyovers that go into Town Madison where Toyota Field is. You see all these other widening projects, and there is a lot of money coming in. To your point about some areas of Alabama, a gas tax increase was passed for "Rebuild Alabama." You see that sign everywhere—on every new road or bridge that's been repaved or widened. I love seeing that because we know the funds are being used where they're supposed to go. I had a family in town this week from Chicago, and all they did was complain about where their taxes go. They aren't seeing the benefit of the taxes they pay, which are quadruple what we pay here. Alabama really does have good stewardship of their money, particularly here in the Huntsville area. We're getting a lot for what we pay for. Megan Hines: People get the wrong idea. They think that everybody wants low taxes, and you do have them here, but being able to see where your money goes is incredibly important. We value living in a community and having certain things. The other thing they're building out here is the Singing River Trail. That's going to bring together walkable, bikeable paths throughout Madison County. It's already started. Eventually, you'll be able to basically bike your way anywhere in Madison County from your house to somebody else's house without going on a road. It's great for families. Cameron Hines: There are a lot of unsung developments coming along, particularly from non-government agencies. You think of the North Alabama Land Trust—they've got a huge welcome center they're about to build over by Trailhead. There are so many other little projects that aren't national news but are for us locals. They're going to have a huge impact on the quality of life here. It's really the quality of life that's important. Seeing the local government and planners continue to improve upon that makes it that much easier for the next family to move here. Megan Hines: Having amazing public spaces allows you to maybe move here and take a job that doesn't pay as much, but you're still able to go to Big Spring Park, walk across the big walkway, enjoy the views of the city, and enjoy all the parks and green spaces. You don't have a diminished quality of life; it might be better than it would be in a place where every activity costs money. --- Page 6 --- Cameron Walker: It's cool to see the city adding green space rather than removing it. Out in the suburbs, we're seeing more development, but it's getting spread out. The Northern Bypass is being built in segments, and it's allowing for development in areas that didn't previously have it. It's helping with density and bringing businesses in while alleviating traffic flow from other areas. Megan Hines: What's your favorite of the infrastructure projects? Cameron Walker: I'm personally most impacted by I-565 and Highway 72 because they go to where I live. But if I were looking at it from a real estate broker's perspective, the Northern Bypass is the one I'm most excited about. It's going into an underserved area where people have difficulty getting around, and it's going to open it up for them and for development. The urban planning focuses on two things: making Huntsville more fun and making it more functional. Megan Hines: It's changing the streetscape of town, too. Cameron Walker: I don't want to act like it's all sunshine and roses. I'll give you an example of something I ran into last week. I have a client moving here from Colorado Springs with Space Command. He's looking at homes from afar and found this gem—just underpriced, gorgeous, renovated. As I looked at it on the map, I realized his next-door neighbor's house had been demolished for the bypass. It was undisclosed, nothing online about it, and he would have this highway basically within 20 feet of his house. There are some downsides to all this development. Megan Hines: There are always winners and losers when it comes to change. The fact that we don't really have disclosures here means that if you're not paying close attention and not working with somebody who looks at the details, that could happen to you. Cameron Walker: Absolutely. People who live there didn't have a choice in the matter, either. You have to be cognizant of what is on those planning documents for three, five, or 10 years down the road. Huntsville puts that out there—the big plan is updated every five years. It's like they have a mastermind timing everything to coincide with things like Space Command coming. Megan Hines: It's "build it and they will come." If you don't have the infrastructure, people can't come here. Out by County Line Road, it had nothing on either side of that four-lane highway for years, but they knew it was coming. They built in advance, and now you see new business after new business opening there. Building the infrastructure brings the businesses, restaurants, and entertainment. Once you've made a place livable, people start to live. Cameron Walker: Look at the Mazda Toyota plant. That was built, and then many suppliers came to the area. All these people employ people, and all these people need housing, schools, --- Page 7 --- and groceries. It becomes a virtuous cycle where the economy, housing, and quality of life all improve. Megan Hines: I have to hand it to city planners. It seems like so many moving parts. I'm glad that's not my job. Cameron Walker: I agree 100%. Getting the financing together and deciding who pays for what is staggering. I'm proud of our local leadership that we have a AAA rating for our credit for all of our local municipalities. We're not going into blistering debt or facing bankruptcy to get these things done. Megan Hines: It's impressive. People know what they're doing. Cameron Walker: We hit the high notes. If there's anything you have questions about, we would love to discuss that with you. Thanks for watching. Megan Hines: Thank you so much. Cameron Walker: Thanks for watching or listening. You can catch us on audio wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify or Apple—or you can watch our video on YouTube. We really appreciate you being here. Subscribe so we can keep you informed of everything going on here in Huntsville.